Paul Leonard Briggs (April 18, 1920 – February 14, 2011) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tackle who played one season with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the seventh round of the

1944 NFL Draft The 1944 National Football League Draft was held on April 19, 1944, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Boston Yanks selected quarterback Angelo Bertelli. Player selections Round ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

and attended

Grand Junction High School Grand Junction High School (GJHS) is a public high school located in Grand Junction, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Mesa County Valley School District 51. It is one of four high schools located within the Grand Valley. History Ori ...

Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 65,560 at the 2020 United States Census, making Grand Junction the 17th mos ...

. Briggs was the head football coach of

Bakersfield High School Bakersfield High School (BHS) is a public four-year high school located in Bakersfield, California, United States. Opened in 1893, Bakersfield High School serves grades ninth through twelfth within the Kern High School District. Notable alumni * ...

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

from 1953 to 1985. He was head coach of Rocky Ford High School in

Rocky Ford, Colorado Rocky Ford is a statutory city located in Otero County, Colorado, United States. The population was 3,957 at the 2010 census. The community was named for a rocky ford near the original town site. Geography Rocky Ford is located at (38.0510 ...

from 1949 to 1950 and head coach of

Natrona County High School Natrona County High School (NCHS) is a public secondary school (grades 9–12) located in Casper, Wyoming, United States. It serves Natrona County School District #1, which encompasses all of Natrona County, Wyoming. The school remains a rival of ...

from 1951 to 1952. Briggs was also an assistant coach at

Orange Coast College Orange Coast College (OCC) is a public community college in Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides Associate of Art and Associate of Science degrees, cert ...

from 1985 to 2005. He was inducted into the University of Colorado Hall of Honor in 1974, Citizens Athletic Foundation High School Hall of Fame in 1975, California Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1977, Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame in 1978 and Bakersfield High School Football Hall of Fame in 2006. He joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1943 and was stationed on the

USS Daly USS ''Daly'' (DD-519), a ''Fletcher''-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Marine Sergeant Major Daniel Daly, (1873–1937), one of the very few people to be twice awarded the Medal of Honor. Construction and co ...

. Briggs earned a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

after being hit in the nose and back by shrapnel during a Japanese

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

attack.

References

External links

Just Sports StatsCoach Paul Briggs Scholarship Fund
1920 births 2011 deaths Players of American football from Providence, Rhode Island American football tackles Colorado Buffaloes football players Detroit Lions players United States Navy personnel of World War II {{Amfoot-bio-stub